Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among AIDS patients in Hospital Kuala Lumpur, 2001

Singapore Med J. 2003 Apr;44(4):194-6.

Abstract

Four hundred and six AIDS patients were recruited in this retrospective study. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among 406 AIDS patients was 208 (51.2%). Their age ranged from 17 to 74 years with a median of 35 years. The majority of patients were males 172 (82.6%), Malays 99 (47.5%), single 109 (52.4%), unemployed 99 (47.6%) and heterosexual with commercial sex workers (CSW) 97 (46.6%) as the risk marker to HIV infection. Thirty-one (14.9%) of 208 AIDS-related toxoplasmosis were diagnosed as active toxoplasmic encephalitis. The most common clinical manifestation was headache (67.7%). The CT scan findings showed most lesions to be multiple (87.5%), hypodense (66.7%), and in frontal region (41.7%). Twenty-two (71%) patients had chronic (latent) Toxoplasma infection as evidenced by seropositivity for anti-Toxoplasma (IgG) antibody. They were statistically significant in the association between CD4 count and toxoplasmic encephalitis (P = 0.019; OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.14-6.02). After the initial six weeks of anti-TE therapy, relapsing toxoplasmic encephalitis was detected in 9.7% in this study.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Aged
  • Encephalitis / diagnostic imaging
  • Encephalitis / epidemiology
  • Encephalitis / parasitology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Singapore / epidemiology
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Toxoplasmosis / diagnostic imaging
  • Toxoplasmosis / epidemiology*
  • Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral / epidemiology